Weight Watchers Mexican Zero Points Soup Recipe ♥

Say hello to the new Weight Watchers zero points soup recipe, the "Mexican" soup. It has a delicious tomato broth with lots of vegetables and some underlying heat. Low Carb. Gluten Free. Whole 30. Paleo. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

A reader tipped me off that Weight Watchers UK just introduced three brand-new recipes for new Zero Point soups. Since A Veggie Venture readers are such fans of the original Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup, I couldn't wait to try them! The only question was, which new soup recipe to make first? Asian? Italian? Mexican?

A few of the Mexican-inspired recipe's ingredients were already on hand, so Mexican it was. And good news: this new soup recipe is a great soup for people who follow Weight Watchers. But it's also a great vegetable soup overall – definitely a keeper!

The positives: It's packed with both vegetables and flavor, no wan blandness here. It tastes like it has far more calories than it does. The negatives: Some ingredients might not be easy to find everywhere. It does require some chopping. But if you like soup made from fresh vegetables? Add this recipe to your "try soon" pile.

WW POINT CHANGES Sigh. Weight Watchers keeps changing its point calculations. Originally there were what we now call "Old Points" and then in 2010, we all made the conversion to "PointsPlus." And now, again in late 2015? Get used to "SmartPoints." Each change helps us make increasingly smarter food choices. But they also mean that these soups are no longer "zero point" soups. That said, all these soups remain delicious and very low in points and real staples for those of us who love the Weight Watchers food plans.

COMPLIMENTS! "... it was sooo good!!! This one is definitely a keeper." ~ Anonymous "... a nice alternative to the usual veggie soup." ~ Actual Scale "So filling and delicious I didn't feel the need for anything else." ~ Scott "I loved it ..." ~ Charlene " I like this much better [than the original Garden Vegetable Soup]." ~ Anonymous"This recipe is the best tasting soup I have ever had!" ~ Storyteller Doll

Bring the stock to a boil in the microwave while prepping the vegetables. This is an optional step but starting off with hot stock does speed up the time-to-table.

Spray a large pot or Dutch, then set on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the onion, green pepper, poblano, jalapeño, tomatillo and garlic as they're prepped; let cook until beginning to turn color, stirring often. Stir in the cumin and oregano, let cook for one minute. Stir in tomato, zucchini and green beans, then the (either hot or cold) stock.

Whiz the red peppers and chipotle peppers in a mini food processor and stir into the soup. Cover and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, uncover the soup, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes until the beans are cooked. Taste and add salt to taste.

TO FINISH Stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES STOCK CHOICES The inspiring recipe calls for vegetable stock. Some times I use 6 cups water mixed with a spoonful of the wonderful Better Than Bouillon. But since there are always lots of No-Big-Deal Homemade Chicken Stock in the freezer (yes, I Freeze Stock in Canning Jars), that's my usual stock for soup. JALAPEÑOS My fridge always has a jar of these easy-to-make Pickled Jalapeño Rings. But a fresh jalapeño works great, so would a jar of commercial jalapeños. CHIPOTLE IN ADOBO SAUCE This is one of my favorite ingredients. Look for it in the Mexican aisle in small cans. Inside you'll find small brown chiles in a brown sauce. Many recipes will have you spoon out a tiny bit of the adobo sauce at a time or one chile at a time. My practice is to open a can and then put it through a mini food processor, then transfer the mixture to a small container where it'll keep for months and months in the refrigerator. Do know, this stuff packs heat! The inspiring recipe calls for a whole tablespoon, I use just a teaspoon. SALT TO TASTE In part, how much salt to add is always a function of taste. But it's also a function of the relative saltiness of other ingredients, especially the stock. If you use a commercial stock, you'll likely need to add less salt. Since I mostly use homemade stock that has no salt, I add a good couple of teaspoons of kosher salt. HEAT SOURCES Cooks, beware! This soup can get really spicy, too spicy for my taste, frankly. The heat sources are the poblano (although poblanos are usually quite mild), the jalapeño and the chipotle in adobo sauce. If you use Rotel canned tomatoes, these also pack heat. The soup's heat does seem to moderate by Day Two. RAW to COOKED? Call me surprised when the raw poblano pepper and raw onion cooked up into something delicious so quickly. Seriously, all these raw vegetables just cook to the perfect tenderness. Great work on the part of recipe developer Ronne Freedman! DIY ZERO POINT SOUP RECIPES? This recipe makes me realize that A Veggie Venture's many one-point soup recipes can easily be converted to zero-point recipes, just by substituting a splash of broth for olive oil when sautéing the onion up front. These recipes might be good alternatives for Weight Watchers followers not excited about chopping vegetables for forty minutes. AND WHAT'S THIS GREAT WEBSITE, YOU ASK? :-) A Veggie Venture is my own website packed with nearly recipes, each one featuring vegetables. It is not associated with Weight Watchers - more information.

Still Hungry?

MORE WEIGHT WATCHERS-FRIENDLY RECIPES STRAIGHT TO YOUR IN BOX!

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comments:

Even for those of us who don't use the Weight Watchers point system, this looks like a great soup -- and a great excuse to keep some items in the pantry. We've been having soup for dinner 3-4 nights a week, which really does help with weight loss.

Anonymous
on
March 06, 2008

Great. Noticed that the WW home page has the 0 point Asian soup today. It looks great as well.

Anonymous
on
December 06, 2008

I just saw this recipe and have to say, I've been doing this for years, EXCEPT...I just add a healthy spoonful of my favorite fresh salsa and some cilantro to my bowl. ;-)

I just made this soup recipe tonight, and it was sooo good!!! This one is definitely a keeper.

My daughter and I are watching our weight, while my husband and son are not, so what I will do in the future is heat up corn and blackbeans that the guys can add to their portion. Everyone will be happy that way!

Oh, and good tip about adding just part of the chipotle pepper. I added one teaspoon, as you suggested, and it was plenty hot.

Thank you, Anonymous, for that correction. I've always thought that a red onion was also called a Spanish onion -- until last week, that is, when I saw a recipe from a reliable source and it specified "either a Spanish onion or a red onion". But it wasn't until now that I looked up what a 'Spanish onion' is and it seems to be what I think of as a yellow onion. Does that compute for you?

Scott
on
January 19, 2010

LOVE IT! I made this tonight and had two bowls for dinner. So filling and delicious I didn't feel the need for anything else. I'm a spicy food nut, so I added a little extra chipotle (gave it the perfect sweat factor). Thank you for sharing this recipe!

I made this last night! I added some tomato sauce and hominy!!! I loved it.. had it for lunch today!!!

Anonymous
on
February 05, 2011

I did NOT like the original Garden Vegetable soup, and I so wanted to! I like this much better. I am a big baby about spice, but I followed the directions. Alanna is right - the spices do cool by the second day. I cut the recipe in half, and used a can of green beans instead of fresh. I took the left over jalapeno and poblano and and one of the peppers in adobe sauce and put them in the spice mill, so I can make another batch next week and not get pepper juice on me.

Anonymous
on
February 07, 2011

Addendum: I just realize that the pepper that I thought was a poblano was incorrectly labeled - it was a habenero! So, if you aren't sure what a poblano is, Google it before you go. Tip: It's a large green pepper, not a small orange pepper. No wonder the soup is so spicy! I ended up adding some rice and a little cottage cheese to it. Spicy but very yummy!

I live in New Mexico where the chili's are hot! I love it hot! This recipe is the best tasting soup I have ever had! I tweaked it a bit. I added black beans and corn instead of the green beans. I plan to prepare it for Thanksgiving! thank you!

Hi Anonymous ~ This recipe was first published when WW was first using what we now think of as the "Old Points" system - before PointsPlus. In the old system, the soup WAS calculated at a zero-point soup, now however, the soup is counted as one point. You'll see this in the nutrition information.

JAnderson ~ I haven't frozen this specific soup but do freezer similar vegetable-broth soups. After freezing, the soups are nothing like fresh -- the vegetables' texture changes, the flavors wash out -- but if you have a serving or two leftover that you'd like to save for a few days, no problem.

Anonymous ~ I get your point of view, I really do. But from way back when I started calculating points back in ---- um, 2002 -- whenever I cooked something, I counted every ingredient, even when WW called the ingredients “free”. I just didn’t want to make the distinction nor to keep up with WW’s frequent changes on what’s free and what’s not. We all know that this is a really healthy low-calorie, low-carb soup. Count the points in whatever way is comfortable to you. Truly!

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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe, whether a current recipe or a long-ago favorite. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. ~ Alanna

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